────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄

────── ★★★ ──────

The pirate captain pulled out his phone once the promised ten minutes passed and called Emma to tell her that Neal had left the hospital. While Killian and Sam stayed behind to look for the runaway man around town, Everly met up with Emma and David to track the Dark One and the Cassidy man in the forest. When the Jones girl finally arrived at the trailhead, the Savior and the charming prince quickly caught her up on everything they knew. It took a few times going over the information until Everly's confusion faded then they began their journey into the woods.

"So, how was Neal?" David asked as they stepped over a fallen log in the middle of the path.

"It was hard. Henry makes it complicated. It's not just about me. He's hoping Gold can help bring his memories back," Emma told the blue-eyed man while the Jones girl looked around at the surrounding trees.

"That would be an added bonus to finding him."

"Would it?" the blonde-haired woman questioned, causing Everly and David to stare at Emma with blank looks on their faces before she continued her explanation, "a couple of days ago I would have thought that was true, but now..."

"Now what? How is he going to stay in Storybrooke without them?" their father asked, only to be greeted by silence the realization hit the blonde girl like a train.

"You're going back to New York after we break the curse, aren't you?" Everly said, drawing Emma's attention away from David and back to her.

"A week ago, the three of us were playing video games and eating Fruit Roll-Ups. Now we're chasing down the Dark One, hoping he can help me find the Wicked Witch of the West," Emma explained while her sister barely missed tripping over a rock that was in the middle of the trail.

Before any of them could say another word, a blood-chilling scream fills the air. The three of them froze in their tracks and turned their attention in the direction of the cry. After exchanging a concerned look with one another, they sprinted away from the trail and towards the sound. They jumped over logs and wove through a couple of trees before they came to a small clearing. Everly's entire body became a statue as she watched Rumplestiltskin on the ground holding his head in agony.

"Gold! You alright?!" Emma shouted, breaking her sister out of her daze before they rushed towards the man. Everly and David stood a few feet back as the Savior fell to her knees in front of the Dark One.

"No. No, no, no. Not alright! Not alright!" the powerful man panicked before he let out a few whimpers while holding his head again, "I can't quiet the voices."

"We know that you were held captive by the Witch. Do you know where she is?" the blonde woman asked while David unconsciously placed himself in front of Everly.

"Yeah," he panted then took one of his hands away from his head, "she's...there's no room! No room! There's too many voices! Too many voices!"

"We got to get him out of here," David stated before approaching the two on the ground in the center of the clearing.

Before David could get any closer to Emma and Rumplestiltskin, a loud screeching filled the air. They all instantly turned their attention towards the sound to find one of the Wicked Witch's demon monkeys flying straight towards them. Without thinking twice, David pushed Everly out of the way before unsheathing his sword and hitting the money across the chest.

Everly watched it tumble across the clearing until it got back on its feet and let out another high-pitched screech. The charming prince charged at the winged primate and attacked as Rumplestiltskin jumped up from the ground and fled the scene.

"Everly! Follow him!" David shouted, causing the girl in question to look at him with a hint of disbelief in her eyes, "Emma and I will hold him off! Go!"

After quickly shaking off all prior emotions, the Jones girl turned her back to the pair before racing after Rumplestiltskin. A moment passed of her following after the man then he picked up his pace. Irritation flowed through her veins as she ran after him through a group of trees before she lost sight of him.

Despite losing him, Everly's feet continued forward through the forest. She kept running in a straight line until her path was blocked by a large boulder. When she turned to avoid the obstacle, she smacked into something. Everly stumbled back a bit and was about to trip over a log when she felt a pair of hands steady her. As soon as she regained her bearings, the Jones girl looked up at her savior to find a familiar face smiling down at her.

"Baelfire?" Everly muttered with a hint of confusion in her voice while the grin on the man's face did nothing but grow, "how'd you get all the way out here? You left the hospital like twenty minutes ago."

"Guess I can accomplish the impossible when I put my mind to it," he chuckled before he turned around and continued walking through the forest. When he realized she wasn't following him, Neal turned around to face Everly again. "Are you coming?"

"I don't see why not considering we're looking for the same man."

After the brunette man set her another smile, they started walking back in the direction Everly came from. It wasn't long before the feeling from the hospital settled in the Purest Heart's chest again. While the duo continued through the trees in silence, Everly's mind attempted to figure out how the Cassidy man could appear in the middle of the forest right after Rumplestiltskin vanished.

"Gold!" a familiar voice cut through the silence before Emma appeared out of nowhere. The urgency on her face instantly turned to confusion as she stared at the two of us before her eyes settled on Neal. "What're you doing here?"

"You expect me to stay in bed while you're looking for my dad?"

"Right, I forgot who I was dealing with."

"You got a bead on him?"

"We just saw him, but he took off again," Emma told the man before her attention landed on her sister, "where did he go?"

"I don't know," Everly confessed as she glanced over at Neal for a short moment before casting her gaze back to her sister, "I was following him then he turned through some trees and...vanished. Like he was never here at all."

"So it's true? He's alive?" the Cassidy man questioned, drawing the sister's attention back to him to see his eyes glancing between them before Emma sent him a small nod, "how'd he seem?"

"I don't know what that witch did to him, but he seems a little..."

"Crazy," the Jones girl finished, knowing Emma wouldn't.

"When we asked him about her, it was like he wanted to tell me, but he couldn't," the Savior continued after sending the younger girl an annoyed look.

"Well, he can't be far. Come on," the son of the Dark One told them as he looked around at the surrounding trees then he began to continue down the trail. He soon stopped his actions after seeing the look on their faces before he let out a sigh. "You guys wanna waste time dragging me back to the hospital? Because that's the only way you're gonna get me there."

"You're a lot more stubborn now than you were on Neverland," the former Lost Girl scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest. The only response she received from the man was a playful smirk before his eyes left Everly and landed on Emma.

"Fine, let's go," the Swan woman grunted as she pushed past the man to continue down the path.

"You two really are sisters."

After sending the man one last playful glare, they turned and followed Emma through the forest in search of the Dark One. It wasn't long before the son of Rumplestilskin left Everly's side to catch up with Emma.

The Jones girl watched the pair walk side by side while having an inaudible conversation. After listening to them laugh about something the girl couldn't hear, her fingers moved up to her wrist and landed on the familiar leather. Her fingers began to fiddle with Felix's bracelet as one of her many memories of Neverland filled her head.

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After getting back from hunting with a group of Lost Boys, Everly made her way around the fire to sit next to Baelfire on one of the logs. The brunette boy instantly greeted her with a smile before throwing another branch into the flames. The pair just sat in a comfortable silence as the heat wrapped around them like a blanket.

Just as Everly placed her head on her best friend's shoulder to have a much-needed nap, the sound of footsteps approaching filled the air. A small sigh passed over the lone girl's lips as she looked up to find Felix walking towards them.

"We need to continue practicing your archery," Felix stated after stopping in front of the inseparable pair.

"She doesn't want to right now," Baelfire hissed at Pan's second-in-command right after Everly opened her mouth to respond.

"The girl has a voice of her own. Let her speak for herself."

"Knock it off! Both of you!" the Lost Girl shouted while getting to her feet to stand in between the two boys.

As soon as they finished glaring at each other, they both turned to look at Everly. The girl just stared back at them before letting out another breath and looking up at Felix.

"It's probably a good idea to continue training," she told the blonde boy before her eyes went back to Baelfire, "we both should. We need to be ready for whatever Pan's game is tonight."

"I knew you were the smart one," Felix smirked then he glanced down at the brunette still sitting on the long, "you could learn a thing or two from her."

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"So, New York, huh?" Neal's voice derailed Everly's train of thought and brought her back to reality as the three of them continued to trek through the forest.

"I like the pizza," Emma laughed while her sister's jaw clenched at the thought of going back to the city.

"Did Henry like it?"

"He loves pizza."

"I meant living there in the city."

"Yeah, I did, too."

"What about you, Everly?" the brunette man questioned as he turned his head to look back at his first friend.

"Not as much as they did," the Jones girl admitted before picking up her pace to walk on his other side, "Henry had tons of friends. Emma had...someone. I was usually on my own if I wasn't with them."

"No friends?" he asked without even trying to hide the confusion in his voice. When he was greeted by the shaking of her head, Neal let out a small chuckle. "That's kinda surprising considering how well you got along with most of the Lost Boys on Neverland."

Emma gently elbowed him in the side in response to his statement before they continued to talk. It wasn't long before they went back to talking about New York and Everly tuning out their conversation once again. After a few moments of walking through the forest, the sound of Emma's phone ringing cut through the natural sounds that surrounded them. The three of them stopped in a small clearing before the Swan woman pulled the device out of her pocket to answer the call.

"Belle. What'd you find?" the blonde woman paused as she listened to what the princess had to say. After a moment of listening to the information being given to her, a confused look formed on Emma's face before her eyes landed on Neal once again.

"Wait, so he brought Gold back?" the Savior questioned before continuing to listen to Belle's explanation as the Cassidy man's eyes widen a bit before the odd feeling in Everly's gut grew.

"Whoa! Hang on a minute, what?" Emma panicked then she listened to the French woman again before her confused look began to be replaced with concern.

Just as Everly opened her mouth to speak, Neal let out an agonizing scream and collapsed to the floor. Shock and confusion fill the Jones girl's body at the sight of her best friend before she and Emma fell to the floor next to him.

"Emma, what's going on?!" the Purest Heart shouted before her eyes flash up to look at her sister, only to find the woman staring at the Cassidy man with terror in her eyes.

"Neal, what did you do?" the Savior muttered, ignoring Everly's question as she examined the symbol on his hand.

Right as she gently rubbed her thumb over the marking, the son of Rumplestiltskin lets out another scream and looked up at them with terror in his eyes. Everly's blood ran cold and her body became stone as she watched his face contort into Rumplestiltskin's before it went back to his once again.

"What's going on?!" Everly repeated before managing to look away from the man in front of her and back at her sister.

"I think Gold is inside you. I think that's how you're still alive."

"Yeah, I hear my father's voice in my head," Neal whimpered while digging his fingers into the dirt in front of him after taking in Emma's words, "he's in there, he's in me."

"He said there was no room," Everly said just loud enough for them to hear after the realization hit her before she looked back to the man in pain, "he meant you."

"I need you to help me," the son on Rumplestiltskin pleaded as his hands left the ground and landed on Emma's shoulders, "use your magic. Separate me and my father."

"Are you kidding? You'll die."

"I know. But you need my dad more than me," he told the blonde woman while cringing in pain before looking back up at the sisters, "to figure out who the Witch is, to save the town. You both need to do this."

"I can't use my magic to kill," Everly whispered, drawing both of their eyes to her as she continued to stare at Neal.

"I've never done anything like that before. Not that big," the Savior said while the Jones girl's mind raced with memories of the boy she was trapped on Neverland with.

"Do it. To save you and Henry," the Cassidy man begged the woman in front of him before letting out another shaky breath, "do it. Please."

The dam holding back Everly's tears breaks as Emma continued to stare at her first love. The Swan woman hesitantly took both of Neal's hands into her own then they began to shake. The Jones girl watched in silence as her sister closed her eyes before a flash of light emitted from the Cassidy man. A gasp escaped Emma as the man kneeling in front of her was thrown back, leaving Rumplestiltskin in his place.

The three of them just stared at each other in utter confusion and shock before reality hit them like a truck. All of their attention snapped back to Neal to find him lying motionless on the ground a few feet away from them.

"Neal!" she exclaimed while the trio rushed to his side and knelt down next to the man, "Neal, are you okay?!"

"What have you done?" Rumplestiltskin questioned in a frenzy as his eyes scan over his son.

"It's okay, Papa. I told her to," Neal explained to his father, causing the latter to look up at the sisters. Emma helped the brunette man sit up and carefully rested his head in her lap before their eyes landed on the man in pain once again.

"But why?"

"So you can tell them who the Witch is, so you can defeat her."

"Zelena."

"What?!" Everly and Emma exclaimed as their heads snapped back to look at Rumplestilskin.

"Zelena."

"She's the witch? What does she want?"

"What she doesn't have," he answered Everly's question without taking his eyes off his son.

Everly and Emma exchanged another look then the former turned her attention back to Neal while the Savior continued to look at the Dark One with hope in her eyes.

"There has to be some way you can save him, right?" she asked, only for Rumplestiltskin's watery eyes to leave his son.

"It's too late, Emma," the man told her after getting to his feet, causing her to turn back to Neal as tears begin to form in her eyes.

"Just hang in there, please. You haven't even had a chance to see Henry. For him to remember you," the Savior pleaded as her arms tighten around the man while Everly ran her hands through her hair.

"It's okay. He doesn't need to," the Cassidy man whimpered as he looked away from his father and up at Emma, "he just needs to know that, in the end, I was a good father."

As tears continued to roll down Everly's cheeks, she looked away from the man that she met on the Jolly Rodger and landed on the Dark One. Her eyes followed him as he paced a few feet away from them while rubbing his hands down the sides of his face.

"There has to be some way to save him," the Purest Heart whispered, drawing Rumplestilskin's eyes to her before she looked back down at her first true friend, "just tell me what to do and...and I'll do it. I don't care about the price."

"It's okay, Ev. Just...just watch out for Henry like you did for me back on Neverland," Neal told her, only to receive a small nod in response before he sent her a forced smile. Everly's tearful eyes stayed glued to the man as he pulled out a chain from his pocket and held it out to Emma. "I saved this for you. To give to you again. Take it. Go find Tallahassee. Even if it's without me."

"Neal," Emma whimpered as her hand surrounded the necklace.

"Hey, I'll be watching over you guys from somewhere. Promise me. Just promise me you'll both be happy."

"I promise. I promise."

Everly's whole body stilled as Neal looked away from Emma and over at her with tears in his eye. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before he took off the necklace Milah gave to him and gently placed it in her hands. More tears broke free as the Jones girl tightly closed her hand around the cold metal. Her eyes snapped shut as she listened to the shaky breathing of her best friend before she was greeted by a pain in her chest that she knew far too well.

"You deserve to be happy just as much as anyone else in this town, Everly," the Cassidy man whispered just loud enough for the girl to hear before she sent him another nod.

"No. No, no, no. I can fix this," Rumplestiltskin muttered then he knelt down next to his son once again.

"No, you can't. You can't," the brunette man stated as he stared up at his father, "thank you, Papa. For showing me what it is to make a true sacrifice. It's about saving the ones that you love. It's my turn now."

"I don't wanna let you go," the Dark One whimpered while taking his son's hand into his.

"I need you to...please. Let go."

"I love you, son."

"I love you, Papa."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Neal looked up at the sky and took in one last breath before all life faded from his eyes.

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As soon as they got back to the loft, David quickly swung open the door, making it slam against the wall. Mary Margaret stared at her family with wide eyes and slightly parted lips as they rushed into the room ready for a fight.

"What's going on?" the raven-haired woman questioned while glancing between the three of them with shock and confusion in her eyes.

"Where's Zelena?" Emma questioned as she scanned the room for any sign of the Witch.

"In the bathroom. Why?"

Everly instantly placed herself in between her mother and the bathroom with her dagger in hand at the same moment David unsheathed his sword. The Purest Heart didn't move an inch as her father and sister slowly approached the bathroom. Once they reach both doors, they kick them open without an ounce of hesitation, only to find an empty room.

"She had to know we were coming," David stated as he continued to look around at the vacant bathroom.

"I'll call Regina. We need a protection spell around this apartment right away," Emma said before pulling out her phone from her back pocket and hitting one of the keys.

"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Mary Margaret asked as David exited the bathroom and made his way over to his wife and Everly.

"I'm just glad you're safe," the charming prince sighed in relief then he attempted to pull the raven-haired woman in for a hug, only for Mary Margaret to push him away with a look of confusion in her eyes.

"Of course, I'm safe. Why wouldn't I be safe?"

"It's Zelena. She's the Wicked Witch."

"What?" the princess questioned in disbelief as she looked around at her family, "how do you know?"

"Gold told us. Neal brought him back before-" the Savior cut herself off as her face grew emotionless and her eyes filled with tears once again.

"Before what?" Mary Margaret said as she left David's side to stand in front of her daughters, "what happened?"

"Neal's dead," Emma whispered as if saying it quiet enough would falsify the statement.

As Mary Margaret pulled Emma into a hug, Everly walked away from them and sat down on the couch. Her eyes stayed glued to the floor for a long moment before she finally pulled out Neal's necklace from her jacket pocket. Tears returned to her eyes as she carefully rubbed her fingers across the silver sword before taking it off of the chain and putting it onto hers.

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While Emma went to find Henry to tell him everything that happened within the last hour, Everly went with Mary Margaret and David to the pawnshop to give Belle and Killian the news. As soon as we get in front of the shop, the royals stopped and exchanged a look before turning to look at their daughter with sorrow in their eyes.

"We know how close you and Neal were. We're really sorry, Punz," David told her, only to receive a small nod before Everly looked from them to the ground.

The next thing she knew, David and Mary Margaret pulled the girl in for a tight hug. Everly was surprised by the sudden action and just stood in their arms for a moment before she slowly brought her arms up and tightly wrapped them around the pair. As soon as they ended their embrace, the Purest Heart sent them a small smile before walking past them and into the shop.

The moment Everly saw Killian, all of the tears she'd been fighting back escaped before she rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. While David and Mary Margaret explain everything to the two, the Jones girl cried into the raven-haired man's chest.

As soon as her parents finished their explanation, Killian's grip on Everly tightened. He whispered something she couldn't make out in her ear then he placed a gentle kiss on her head. Tears continued to fall from her eyes as Everly took her head away from his chest to see Mary Margaret pull Belle in for a hug while David places one hand on Killian's shoulder and the other on Everly's back.

As she thought about how she lost Felix and Neal in the span of thirteen months, Everly made a silent vow to herself not to let anyone else she loved die at the hand of darkness.

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